In the name of God, Amen. I Andrew Willson of the Township of Wantage in the County of Sussex and State of New Jersey Being weak and Low in body, But sound in mind and memory Do make and ordain this to be my Last Will and Testament; first I order that all my Funeral charges and honest Debits Be paid.

Item. I will and Bequeath to my son Abia Willson and his heirs and assigns forever, all the land that I have, with his paying a Legacy of fifty Dollars to my Daughter Martha Titsword .

Item. I will and Bequeath to my Daughter Mary Westbrook, Catharine Elston, Hope Decker, Margaret Dewitt, and Martha Titswoard all my Household furniture after it is sold at public Venue; it is to be Divided into six Equal parts or shares and each of my Daughters aforesaid to have one sixth part as aforesaid, but my Daughter Martha Titswoard shall have two six parts or two shares as aforesaid.

Item. I Will and Bequeath to my sons Joseph Willson, Benjamin Willson, Andrew Willson, Addi Willson, Neri Willson, Hiram Willson and Forgerson Willson all the rest of my moveable Estate after it is sold at public Venue to be Equally Divided among my sons beforementioned and my son Andrew WillsonÂ’s share to be left in the hands of the Executors and the said Executors to let him have it as fast as the[y] shall think he stands in need of help.

I do Constitute and appoint my sons Joseph Willson and Abia Willson and my son in law Richard Westbrook my Executors of this my Last Will and Testament. In Witness whereof I have hereunto Set my hand and Seal this Twenty ninth Day of March one Thousand Eight Hundred and Two..

[signed] Andrew Willson

Signed Sealed and Acknowledged in the presence ofThomas WillsonRachel Young [her mark]George Backster

State of New Jersey }Sussex County } SS:Thomas Wilson, George Backster two of the witnesses to the foregoing will being duly Sworn according to law, did personally depose that they saw Andrew Wilson the testator in said will, named, Sign & Seal the same and heard him publish, pronounce & declare the foregoing instrument to be his last will and testament, and that at the doing herby the sd Testator was of sound and disposing mind and memory as far as these Deponents respectively know & verily believe; and that Rachel Young the other subscribing witness was present at the same time and signed her name as a witness to the said will together with these Deponents in the presence of said Testator

Joseph Wilson, Abia Wilson & Richard Westbrook the ExÂ’rs in the within instatement named, being duly sworn according to law, did solemnly depose that the within writing contains the true last will and testament of Andrew Wilson the Testator within named as far as the deponents know & they verily believe and that they will well and truly perform the same by paying first the debts of the decÂ’d and then the Legacies in the will & Testament specified so far as the goods, chattels and credits of the said decÂ’d can thereunto extend, that they will make & exhibit unto the Prerogative Office of this State a true and perfect Inventory of the s. goods, chattels & credits and render a just and true account when these unto lawfully required.

Re: Andrew Willson ~ Last Will & Testament

New Jersey did not require the registration of deaths until 1848, so there is not any record of Andrew's death other then his will.

The only information I have on Andrew Wilson is copied from Charles Stickney"s "Old Sussex County Families of the Minisink Region." It is possible there could be a record of the troops the English sent to America during the French- Indian war. I haven't had the time to explore this line of research as yet.

The fact there are dates for the the births and deaths of Andrew and his wife Martha and birth dates for all their children, indicates there was some record in exsistance, at one time. I think it had to be a family Bible. I really doubt all the dates were made up.

Andrew & his wife Martha are believed to be buried in a cemetery on his farm that no longer exists.

In the Wantage Recorder [Sussex Co., NJ newspaper] of August 12, 1910 is made mention of this cemetery. The land upon which the cemetery was located passed to his son, Abiah and in turn to his son, Philetus which wasowned by Charles G. Wilson in 1910, a grandson of Philetus.

Excerpt from Charles Stickney's "Old Sussex County Families of the Minisink Region."

Andrew Wilson, was born on November 30, 1726 in Scotland. Andrew was a commissioned officer under Geroge III, and he servered at the battle of Ticonderoga during the French & Indian war. He was badly wounded while in service, and was granted a patent of land by the government. Andrew was married to Martha Ferguson, on August 29, 1750. Martha Ferguson was the daughter of Benjamin Ferguson and his wife Hannah; Martha was born on March 5, 1731 in NY. Andrew and Martha raised their 14 children on the farm Andrew establish in Wantage Twp., Sussex County, NJ.

Re: Andrew Willson ~ Last Will & Testament

thank you for the prompt reply. i did find andrew at the battle of ticonderoga but you filled in some good info. the witness to the will, thomas willson, could be a brother,no? wouldn't it be wonderful to see the family bible.i'm going to salt lake next month and will share what i find.

In Charles Stickney's book, "Old Sussex County Families" there is this on the Wilson family, pages 77-80, abstracted:

John Wilson was the first of this name in Wantage about 1751. It appears that an Andrew Wilson coming a few years after was a brother to this John.Both are of Scottish descent, Andrew having first settled around Wallkill.Andrew was married in 1750 and served during the campaign against Ticonderoga and Crown Point in 1759.

John received a deed for 100 acres from William Alexander, Earl of Stirling on 14 Jun 1751 for fifty pounds witnessed by neighbor John Havens and Richard Gardner [Deputy Surveyor, East Jersey Proprietors]. Lands situate on the North Branch of Beaver Run called Hubb's cabin containing 100 acres are deeded to Samuel Wilson for 38 pounds and change.

A memorandum on a deed dated 10 March 1804 is signed by John Wilson Sr. establishing that he was alive then. A deed he gave Samuel in 1759 was not signed by John Wilson's wife indicating he was a widower at this time. Another deed dated 15 Dec 1796 deeds lands containing 100 acres ofdrowned lands along the Wallkill to the first John's sons John and Samuel Wilson - another mentions the first John's son James as well. There is an Andrew mentioned later which may or may not be a fourth son of John Wilson, the first settler. John Wilson Jr. married but left no sons. James married and went West. Samuel married Susan Estel having eight children:John Wilson, Esq married a sister of Nathaniel Martin having only daus. Peter Wilson left no heirs William Wilson had no sons - dau Sarah m. Peter DeWitt, dau Eliz.m. Jacob Rorick (son of Michael), dau. Mary m. William Chadwick.Samuel Jr. left sons: Thomas L. (who m. a Beardsley having Edward, Samuel,Leeport & Thomas), Asa (m. Temperance Decker having son Asa Jr.father of Evi A. Wilson of Deckertown), Samuel & Peter

Of Andrew, supposed brother of first John Wilson but according to Richard J. Wilson was a son of John Sr., no positive proof of first Settlement exists.

Re: Andrew Willson ~ Last Will & Testament

I am looking for information about a George Westbrook Willson that was born in NJ in 1794. I saw your listing for Andrew Willson and that he has a son in law named Westbrook. Have you run across my George???

Re: Andrew Willson ~ Last Will & Testament

Hi, I know this thread is from 14 years ago but hopefully there is still interest in this family line. I have been tracing details of the Wilson's in Lintrathen, Angus, Scotland & have stumbled across this Andrew. His date of birth matches one that would fit with an Andrew that i have a baptism of in Lintrathen & reading about him here suggests that he has a brother or father names John.

The Andrew i have was Bap in 24 Nov 1728 (this would make him aprox 2yo) His father is listed as John & there is also an older brother John bap 1717. Other siblings would be James 1719, Laurence 1724 and Margaret 1731.

Does anybody have anything that may support this theory? The dates seem to match & no further details can be found of John or Andrew in Scotland. However the Children of Andrew here don't seem to match the family names i have for the Lintrathen Andrew.

If this does turn out to be the same Andrew there is a reasonable chance that he was pressed into joining the British army after the failed Jacobite uprising a few years prior to settling in Wantage. There was a number of Jacobite s joining the army in order to avoid punishment after the defeat at Culloden.

If anyone has any evidence to support or disprove this theory i'd love to hear from you.

On a side note i am a direct descendant of the Wilson's of Lintrathen & have recently had a DNA marker test so if any other Wilson's have done this we could compare results.